


Take me far away

by Shiro_nana



Category: Arashi (Band), Johnny's Entertainment
Genre: Bullying, Community: arashi_exchange, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, Fluff, Friendship, M/M, Magic, Magic AU, Magical school, Sakumoto Ice Age, VERY Harry potter inpired (no need to know harry potter to understand the story though)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-18
Updated: 2018-09-18
Packaged: 2019-07-13 20:52:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16025774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shiro_nana/pseuds/Shiro_nana
Summary: “Mum… I… Can I ask you a weird question?”“What's the matter, Kazu?”“Do you… believe that magic and wizards exist?”





	Take me far away

**Author's Note:**

  * For [akhikaru](https://archiveofourown.org/users/akhikaru/gifts).



> I had a lot of fun writing this. It’s actually more of a Harry Potter AU than anything else, but one doesn’t need to have read any of the books or watched any of the movies to understand the whole story, and hopefully enjoy it ^.^

 

Children were weird creatures. Their apparent cuteness was just a cover, and their “purity” wasn’t always warming and nice. Children could be purely mean. Kazunari didn’t like them. He didn’t like children, even though he was one himself. At seven years old, he wasn’t looking forward to starting his second year of elementary school. He was walking towards the gates, avoiding groups of excited boys and girls, holding onto the straps of his schoolbag that was too big compared to his small body. He was acting the total opposite from the way he had the year before, when he had been all happy and enthusiastic to go to school and make new friends. Things didn’t happen like he was expecting them to at all, and his nightmare had started very early in the school year. Kazunari was quite small for his age, but he was smarter than most and spoke in a mature way that was ahead of the others. It seemed that his vocabulary and clear pronunciation were very funny, making the others mock him for being a know-it-all. Moreover, he had a quite unusual birthmark around his left nipple area, making the areola appear bigger than it was. The first time he had to expose his naked chest for swimming lessons that were given at the beginning of summer during PE class, the bullying had become even more intense.

“Oh look! Nininipple is in our class this year!”

“He’s gonna be the teacher’s favorite again. I bet he already studied the whole program during spring break!”

“Kindergarten babies shouldn’t come to school, you know?”

“Sorry, this desk is already reserved!”

He sat down at the back of the class, in one of the corners, and he was relieved to see that there was an empty desk beside him, even after the bell rang – he might have some peace from the constant annoying pocking during classes.

“Hello everyone! As most of you know me, I’m Yamada Ichiro, and I will be your homeroom teacher for this year. I will be your science teacher as well, so let’s get along! I also have an announcement. We have a new student who’s going to join our class. Aiba-kun, you can come in.”

The new boy who entered was physically the exact opposite of Kazunari. He was quite tall, tan and he seemed unable to contain his excitement. He also had the brightest smile ever.

“My name is Aiba Masaki! I’m eight years old. I was born on Christmas Eve, and it’s the most unfair thing ever because I only get one present for both my birthday and Christmas!” The others in class were either laughing or smiling amusedly. Aiba was going to be a popular kid. He wrote the characters for his name, making some silly mistakes and correcting them while laughing at himself. He had already charmed everyone.

“Thank you Aiba-kun. You can sit down on the empty desk beside Ninomiya-kun, in the back.”

The sunny smile was now directed at him, and he only shyly nodded when the enthusiastic boy gave him a pat on the back, whispering “I hope we’re gonna be great friends, Ninomiya-kun!”. So much for having peace during this school year.

When it was time for lunch break, a lot of their classmates came over to Aiba’s desk, some of them roughly pushing his neighbor aside, throwing him mean looks and whispering to him that he was in the way. Kazunari, who was used to these types of treatments, took his bento and made his way out of the class, towards the roof, where he could hide from everyone. He was opening the door that would lead him to his solitary peaceful moment, when he heard loud hurried steps on the stairs. He felt a firm hand on his shoulder, and he was about to try and run away from another bullying session, when his eyes met Aiba’s shining ones.

“I told you to wait for me, but you didn’t seem to hear me! Can I have lunch with you, Ninomiya-kun?”

Kazunari was stunned. He looked at the other boy with big round eyes, not saying anything. Aiba seemed to take his silence as a yes, because he put his hand around his shoulders and lead them both outside. They sat down in a good spot, and Aiba unwrapped his bento, that looked absolutely delicious.

“My parents are the best cooks ever. They recently opened a restaurant in the neighborhood. This is why we moved here!”

“I see.”

“Don’t be shy with me, Ninomiya-kun! Don’t you want to be my friend?” His puppy dog eyes made Kazunari almost want to pat his head and do whatever he would ask from him.

“I don’t think it would be good for you to be friends with me.” Aiba looked like a genuinely good person, and he didn’t want him to be hurt because of him. No one like that guy deserved to be rejected and insulted because he chose to hang out with the kid they had decided to direct all their hate to.

“Why? Because the others ignore you or push you around? I don’t care.” His tone was serious, and the smile he had on his lips rivaled the sun, to the point that it made Kazunari give up on keeping him away. He would realize soon enough that he was a bother anyway.

“Whatever.” He opened his own bento box, revealing the meal his mother had prepared to him with an encouraging smile in the morning. It was full of his favorite things, and very well decorated.

“Wow! It looks delicious.”

“My mum is also a cook. She works as a chef in a hotel restaurant.”

“Wow that’s cool! My parents only cook Chinese stuff, and they don’t make those pretty designs like your mum does! I do have a cute octopus hot dog though. How about your dad?”

“I don’t know him.”

“Oh my god. Sorry. Is he…?” Aiba’s eyes looked like he was about to cry.

“No. He’s not dead. He just left us when I was two.”

Kazunari was surprised when he felt the other boy suddenly wrap him in a tight hug, and even though it was an unusual action, it gave him a good sensation and made him feel secure for the time it lasted. They spent the rest of the lunch break together, with mostly Aiba’s voice filling the silence.

Aiba continued spending his lunchbreaks with him on the roof, and Kazunari was slowly warming up to him. He was able to cope better with all the bullying that came when the smiling boy wasn’t with him, but it had somehow diminished. He was still cautious though, giving half-assed excuses when Aiba invited him to hang out outside school in his parents’ restaurant or in his house.

Summer started, and with it came Kazunari’s worst nightmare: swimming classes. He tried to make himself unnoticeable, choosing a locker in a corner, but he could feel the mocking looks on him when he was about to remove his clothes to change.

“The weird nipple will make a new appearance.”

“Disgusting”

“I don’t want to see it.”

“I hope it didn’t get bigger.”

Kazunari kept his t-shirt on for as long as possible, choosing to remove his pants and underwear first, putting his swimming trunks on.

“Ninomiya-kun! We have matching swimming trunks!”

Aiba was wearing the same bright orange trunks as him.

“Aiba-kun, you should stay away from him, he might contaminate you with his weird nipple thing!”

“Why? What does your nipple have, Ninomiya-kun?”

Kazunari couldn’t take it anymore. He removed his t-shirt, expecting a mocking reaction from the other boy.

“That’s a cool mark you have here! It’s not weird at all, and it makes you unique.” He turned around, facing their classmates, and his smile was completely gone from his face. “If you guys insist on mocking him for a birth mark, you’re gonna have even more fun with what I have to show.” He then removed his t-shirt, revealing what seemed to be a quite big brown patch covering his left shoulder. The other boys gasped, and the whispers slowly faded away.

“Should we go enjoy the pool, Nino? I can’t wait to be in the water!”

Kazunari looked at Aiba’s outstretched hand, feeling his cheeks warm up at the new nickname, before taking it and going out of the changing room with his friend.

Children were weird creatures. But not all of them were bad, after all.

-

By the end of July, a heat wave was all over Japan. And with that, summer break started, making the local pools always full and the ice cream sell out really fast from convenient stores and vending machines.

Nino and Aiba were in the latter's house, on top of the family's restaurant, enjoying the cool air conditioning in Aiba's room, when it happened.

Nino was curled up on his friend's bed, while the other was sitting on the floor, and they were playing on a game console, with Kazunari being the winner of almost every round. Said boy had started to feel a little cold from the way too cooled air that was going through the room, but he could see that his friend was sweating, so he endured it.

At some point, it started getting better, but it ended up being the total opposite.

“Aiba… Is your AC broken?”

“No. I can feel it’s perfectly working. Why? Are you feeling… Oh my god Nino!”

Aiba was looking at him with very curious shining eyes, and that's when he noticed the weird steam going around his body. He had repeatedly thought of heat, and here he was, with that out-of-nowhere steam around him, looking like it was created by his body.

“I… I don't know what to do with this! How did that even happen?”

“Wait for me a moment. I'll be right back.”

And with that, Aiba ran out of the room, returning soon after with his mother. The woman didn't seem too surprised by the steam that was all over the place now. She took something from her pocket… A stick? She moved the stick up and down a little, and suddenly, all was back to normal. There was no more steam, and the cool artificial air made Nino shiver.

“So you're also special, aren't you?” her smile was the exact same as her son. She sat down on the bed and motioned for Masaki to sit down beside her too. “It might be hard to believe, but you have some abilities that aren't common in this world, Ninomiya-kun. There are more people like you in another place, which is kind of a parallel world, and they're what we commonly call wizards.”

“So… I'm a wizard? Did I suddenly become one? Is it because of the heat?”

“No, you were born this way. Your powers might have awoken because of us.”

“Yeah. Mama and I are also wizards, Nino! And I'm so happy you're one too! That way, we will go together to Majanii!”

Nino was very confused, and his friend's mother noticed it. She calmed her son down and explained everything to the clueless 8-year-old.

There was a sort of parallel world that was full of magical people and all sorts of magical creatures. This world and the one they lived in used to be connected and accessible to all, but the magical world had to be hidden after a conflict with non-magical people, the Mumahou, who were hunting the magical creatures that were defenseless against humans or didn’t attack them.

Aiba's father was a Mumahou, but his mother was from a pure blood wizard family. She had decided to abandon the magical world to open a family restaurant that served Chinese food with her husband.

“Some mixed couples decide to live in the magical world. You can find a bunch of Mumahou there. My husband knows I'm a witch. We were actually living in the magical world before we decided to come here and open our restaurant. Masa was the one who was the most excited.”

“And that’s when I got to meet you, Nino!” He smiled tenderly at his friend, who smiled back timidly.

“But… My mum is not a witch, I think… I don’t know anything about my father, though.”

“There are cases in which you can be the only magical person in a totally non-magical family. You should talk about it with your mum, though. You might discover some things you didn't know about.”

All the information was a lot to take in, but it made sense. Nino had always felt that there was something different with him, but he thought it was just the way he was.

When he came back home in the evening, there was no one in the house. His mother was on a late-night shift, and his sister was in a training camp with her dance club. Kazunari would usually go to sleep on his own in that case, but he wouldn't be able to rest without answers.

Ninomiya Kazue came back around midnight, surprised to see that her son was still awake.

“Kazunari! What did I say about staying too late for games?”

The boy stopped the game he was playing and turned the console off.

“Mum… I… Can I ask you a weird question?”

“What's the matter, Kazu?”

“Do you… believe that magic and wizards exist?”

Kazue’s face didn't show any shock or surprise.

“I should've known that one of you would end up like him.” she sat down beside her son and held his hand. “Your father was like this, and it took me some time to believe it.”

“He was also a wizard?”

“Yes. And he had it all explained to me when we were still together. I never went to the magical world, but I know some basic information.”

“Aiba and his mum told me that I will go to a special magic school, and that they would help me control my powers until I'm old enough to go.”

His mum seemed relieved to hear that he would get some help, because even though she had prepared herself to have one or both of her kids turn out to have powers, she didn't know much about how to handle it.

Nino went to the Aibas’ almost every day, and his mother came with him once she was able to get a day off. Both mums had a long discussion, while the boys played outside with the family's dog.

“I think they’re becoming friends.” Masaki was looking at the two women who were laughing together as if they had known each other for years.

“My mum is really grateful about all the help I’m getting from your family. And she’s also a cook, so I bet they have a lot in common.”

“Yeah! You know, in the magical world, there are some stupid pure bloods who think that Mumahou are inferior to wizards, and that wizards shouldn’t get close to them. But I think that we’re all people who can live together. I know that in the past, Mumahou acted in a bad way, but it wasn’t everyone, and there are bad wizards out there too.”

“Is the magical world really different from here?”

“Well, it is. But there are a lot of common things too!”

Nino was quite excited to go there, but he would have to wait three years and a half. Majanii was like a middle and high school, and the first term started in April. Aiba was supposed to be a year ahead, but he had missed a year of elementary school when he had transferred, so the two boys would be entering together.

-

“Wait for me!” eleven-year old Kazunari was having a hard time following up his best friend who was running excitedly in the shopping alley where they would buy all the necessary things that they would need for their first school year in Majanii. Kazunari was fascinated by everything around him, letting himself be dragged from shop to shop. Aiba’s mother was with them, following them with a very amused smile. The best part so far was when the two kids had bought their wand, and the sensation that it gave when _the_ wand was into their hands. Masaki’s had made green sparkles all around, and Nino’s emitted some sort of really pretty yellow light.

All they had left to buy were the robes. The shop was a little crowded, so they had to wait in line.

“Are you guys first years?”

It was the boy in front of them who spoke. He was small and had chubby cheeks, with tooth that made him look like a very cute hamster. He was waiting like them, with his mother.

“Yeah! I’m Aiba Masaki, and this is my best friend, Ninomiya Kazunari!”

“Sakurai Sho. I’m a third year, and I can’t wait for the term to start!”

They continued speaking until their turn came, and when they separated, Aiba was already calling their new friend “Sho-chan”. The latter came from a pure blood family, but his father was responsible of the relations with Mumahou in the ministry of magic, so he had inherited of his passion for non-magical people.

The school year would start in a week from then, so they came back to Tokyo, and the two boys went back to the Ninomiyas’ for a sleepover, telling Kazue about everything they did and showing her everything they had bought earlier.

On the day of their departure, the boys and their families all went together to Chiba station. They would enter from a special magical gate from there to Chibaba station, where the train for Majanii departed. Kazunari, his mother and his sister were quite surprised when the special gate had appeared where there was only a wall at first. They all went to the quay where they saw other families with children who were ready for the new year to come. After exchanging hugs and some emotional goodbyes, the boys took their luggage to the special designated wagon, before going on the train and searching for a good compartment to sit in for the ride.

“Aiba-kun! Ninomiya-kun! How are you?” Sakurai was right behind them, and he put his arms on their shoulders, pushing them gently forward. “My friend is already here, and he took us a nice compartment. Do you want to join us?”

Nino and Aiba nodded, going with their senpai to where another boy was sitting on his own, looking half-asleep.

“Hi Ohno-kun! I brought new friends.”

The boy smiled, and he introduced himself.

“Ohno Satoshi. I’m a third year like Sho-kun.”

“Aiba Masaki! I’m a first year.”

“Ninomiya Kazunari. You can call me Nino.”

Ohno and Sakurai were really nice guys, and they obviously got along really well. They were actually dorm mates since their first year. There was a total of four dorms containing rooms of five people, with common rooms for every building, and unless there was a major problem, one person would stay in the same room for all seven years at Majanii. The third years’ three other roommates had graduated the year before, so they were getting new ones.

“I hope we’ll be with you guys! I’m sure it would be fun.”

“Actually Aiba-kun, if you think of it with enough strength, the magical urn will make you draw what you want.” Ohno’s eyes were sparkling, and it was the first time since the beginning of the trip that he looked excited.

Majanii was a really beautiful place, surrounded by all kinds of trees that were in full bloom, welcoming the students for a new academic year. The first years followed everyone to the main building, where they all sat down at big round tables. One of the tables was smaller, and all the professors were already sitting around it. There was also a small podium, and when the headmaster went to stand on it, the room became much quieter. He was an old man with mid-length white hair, wearing weirdly shaped sunglasses and multi-colored robes. He seemed more like a hipster than a school principal, but when he started speaking, there was absolutely no other sound all around.

“Hello everyone! I would like to wish you a great new year in Majanii. For the first years, my name is Kitagawa Hiromu, and I want to everyone to give you a very warm welcome to our school.” He extended his hands towards the tables and everyone clapped. He then let them down and it went back to silence. “Here, you will all be able to explore your abilities, learn to control them and develop them. You will have hard time, but also a lot of good ones. You will form new friendships, and maybe find love.” He pushed his sunglasses down, winked, and pushed them back up. “I’m sure everyone is hungry, so I won’t bore you anymore with my speech, but first, let’s make the dorm assignments.”

One of the professors brought the magic urn close to headmaster Kitagawa, who took a list from his robes’ pocket and started reading the names.

“Aiba Masaki.”

Aiba got up and went to the urn. He put his hand in there and closed his eyes, thinking of his new friends intensely. He drew a paper and gave it to Kitagawa.

“East, room 10. Room leader: Ohno Satoshi.”

Aiba smiled and went back to the table, high-fiving Sakurai. When it was Nino’s turn, he did the same thing, and it worked. Their last roommate was a small boy who had huge eyes and thick eyebrows. Matsumoto Jun didn’t seem that happy about it though, throwing a look of disdain towards them, before going to his table, right next to theirs. When dinner started, the guy who was sitting beside him looked at Sakurai in a disgusted way.

“You’re really not lucky, Jun-kun. You got a room with the Mumu lover and his weirdo friend.”

“Yeah I know. I won’t be able to get away from that gross pair. I don’t have a valid reason.”

“Unless Sakurai tries to push his passions and his daddy’s hobbies onto you in a creepy and dangerous way.”

They were talking a little loudly, as if they wanted to be heard by their neighbors. Sakurai, who was the main target of their mockeries, ignored them and continued stuffing his mouth cheerfully.

“Those guys come from pureblood families that despise Mumahou.” Ohno explained in a very low voice. “Most of these guys went to the same pre-school that Sho-kun went to, and they never liked him or his family. And the Matsumoto family is very influential in the magical world. Jun-kun isn’t bad like them, though.”

Nino already didn’t like them. He was raised in a non-magical family, and his mother was a Mumahou. His father had abandoned them, and he was a wizard.

“People shouldn’t judge others by what they are and what they can or cannot do.”

“I know, Nino. They were raised by close-minded people, who refuse to see how things are. My mum is a Mumahou-born witch. My dad’s parents were reluctant at first about the wedding, but now my four grandparents get along so well that they visit each other quite frequently.”

“Ah. Ohno-kun’s grandparents are all really cute. Especially when they decide to play mahjong together. It gets very animated.”

Nino felt his anger fade away, warmed up by his new roommates’ friendship. He looked at his own best friend, who gave him a big toothy smile and squeezed his hand before going back to his full plate.

They all later went to their dorm with full bellies, noticing that Matsumoto was behind them, but that he was keeping his distances. Their suitcases were already in the quite spacious room, and Aiba jumped on one of the obviously unoccupied beds. When Matsumoto entered, he closed the door behind him, observing Sakurai with big eyes filled with uncertainty. He was a completely different person, looking small and vulnerable.

“Gross pair, huh?” Sho had his arms crossed and an eyebrow raised. He looked like he was trying hard not to smile or laugh. “You won’t be able to change rooms. Poor you! Stuck with the creepy ones.”

“You know I wanted to be here, Sho-kun!” The small boy looked like he was about to cry. “You know I have to pretend because my cousin and his friends could tell my parents if they see us being too close and friendly!”

“I know.” Sakurai couldn’t hold his smile back anymore. “Come here, insect.” He opened his arms wide, and Matsumoto ran into them, hugging him like his life depended on it.

Aiba and Nino were very confused, and Ohno took pity on them, and explained the situation to them.

“They were in the same magical pre-school. Sho-kun used to help Jun-kun when he was studying at the library, but Jun-kun’s family hate the Sakurais because of their involvement with Mumahou, so both of them were forced to keep their distances in public. Jun-kun is a great actor, isn’t he?”

They looked in the direction of the other two, who were not hugging anymore. Matsumoto had rosy cheeks and he was smiling shyly.

“Sorry for acting like a snob earlier. My name is Matsumoto Jun. I have to be like this in front of my cousin and his friends, because if my parents know that I’m being friendly with people they don’t approve of, they will send me to another school far away, and I don’t want that to happen.”

Aiba went to the boy and put an arm around his shoulders.

“Don’t worry, Matsujun! You can insult us outside, as long as you don’t mean it.” He tied to wink, but it ended up looking like a weird grimace that made everyone laugh. “I’m Aiba Masaki, by the way!”

“I’m Ninomiya Kazunari, Nino for friends. You better not mean the things you guys say about Mumahou. My mother raised my sis and I by herself, and she didn’t need any magic for that.”

“I’m actually really interested in Mumahou. Sho-kun taught me a lot about them, and I would love to go on a trip to the non-magical world. I can’t do that before graduating though.”

Ohno wasn’t wrong when he had said that Jun was not a bad person. He was actually adorable, especially when Sakurai was around, and the two of them fought playfully a lot when they were in private. Sho really loved teasing the younger one about his creative insults, acting as if he was mad when they were particularly strong or hurtful. He couldn’t resist long to the big pleading eyes, ruffling his hair or hugging him. Nino and Aiba also really got along with him, even though they kept their interactions to a minimum when they had classes together. Jun didn’t want his cousin’s band to know about his friends’ origins and upbringing, not wanting them to be bullied. Most of the first years didn’t care about these types of things, and actually the close-minded purebloods were kind of a minority.

One month had passed since the beginning of the school year, and they had all gotten used to the courses and the rhythm. Nino’s favorite class was transfiguration, and he was really good at it. The teacher, Kuroyanagi Tetsuko, was a very old woman, whose hairstyles were impressive – they seemed to have endless content, because she hid a lot of things in there, including her wand. Aiba was doing really bad in this class, but he excelled in potions, earning endless praises from Gackt sensei, who looked more like a body builder than a potions master. Matsumoto seemed to excel in everything, but he particularly likes defense against the dark arts, that was taught by the most fashionable professor in Majanii, Higashiyama Noriyuki.

Sakurai’s favorite courses for this year were arithmancy and Mumahou studies, and Ohno didn’t seem that interest in main classes, but he took Art as an elective, and he was quite the talented artist. He was also popular for being a transfiguration genius, and he could apparently morph his own body at will.

The first semester seemed to pass really quickly, and their group had already made plans for summer break. They would spend the first half in the non-magical world – Sakurai and Ohno would go to the latter’s grandparents, who lived in Chiba’s sea side, not very far from where Nino and Aiba actually lived. They would go to the Sakurai mansion for the second half. Matsumoto wouldn’t be able to join them at all, but they would all stay in contact with magical tablets, which were the equivalent of cell phones in the magical world.

Ohno’s family were all really nice people, and the combination of magical and non-magical gave a really refreshing and homey feeling at the same time. The kids were all enjoying their day on the beach, having dinner with the two pairs of very energetic grandparents, their children and grandchildren. They were happy about how close everyone was, and also amused by how much this family loved the sea. Satoshi himself loved fishing, and he even had a small birthmark that looked like a fish on his belly.

They had also went to Aiba’s family restaurant, and Masaki’s parents were especially pleased with the enthusiasm with which Sho was eating the food they had prepared. When they went to Nino’s house, they had played games, which were really interesting for the older boys, who asked a lot of questions to Kazunari’s sister about non-magical schools. She also interrogated them all about Majanii, comparing classes and talking about her teachers, who were far from their hipster-like principal and their quite unique professors.

When the first half of their summer break had passed – a little too quickly for everyone’s taste – they all went back to the magical world from Chibaba, but they took a different train from the Majanii Express. The Sakurai manor was huge, and it was surrounded by a beautiful garden.

“It has been here for centuries. My grandparents and my great-grandmother also live here, and she knows a lot of very old stories related to the magical world. The staff who work here are mostly from families who have been in the manor with mine for generations.”

“Sho-kun’s family is not like those pure bloods who treat their servants like inferior people. You will notice how fun everyone is here!”

And fun it was. The Sakurai eldest was one of the best storytellers ever, telling them tales about her youth, and how the magical word had been back then. She had also anecdotes about the times in which she had taught Arythmancy at Majanii, having their current principal as a student.

“He was quite the charmer, that Kitagawa boy. He wanted everyone to call him Johnny. His fashion sense has always been… special, though.”

Sho’s parents were really excited to have non-magically educated people over, and they were also eager to show them around. The manor itself was interesting to explore, and there was also the closest village, where everyone seemed to recognize Sho and Satoshi. They went a bunch of times to the most popular hangout place there: the Kokubun. It was an old restaurant with a bar corner too, and the owner and manager, Taichi, always gave discounts and special combo meals to Majanii students. He was an alumnus himself, and he was friends with most of the younger professors, who came to his restaurant when they had free time – the village was a small train ride away from the magical school.

By the end of September, the four boys said goodbye to the Sakurais and took the train to Majanii. The headmaster didn’t make any speech this time, inviting everyone to start eating their dinner. Matsumoto’s table was, as usual, right next to theirs, and even though he acted in a disdainful way, they could distinguish the slightly apologetic look he threw towards them when the others had their attention on their food.

He hugged them all once they were back to their room, apologizing to a teasing Sakurai in particular.

Things went back to how they were before the break, and finals were getting closer and closer. In Majanii, there was a very short Christmas/end-of-year break, and not all the students went back home. The Sakurais had decided to invite everyone and their families at the manor, because it was close to school. Aiba and Nino’s families only came around New Year’s Eve because of the parents’ work, but it was really pleasant. Finals were during the first half of February, and all of them did well and passed, dividing their vacation between the magical and non-magical world again. After going for hanami in a sakura-filled park in Koenji, they got all ready to go for the next year. Sakurai went back to the manor to retrieve some stuff, but he went back to Chibaba, because he liked going on the Majanii Express with his friends.

Second years still had basic classes like the first, but they could start extra-curricular activities in addition to that, and Aiba immediately joined the broom sports team. He was a natural at flying, and Professor Matsuoka had recommended him to join the team, since he was its advisor and he had the eye for discovering talents. Nino and Jun joined the music club, and the latter could breathe a little there, not acting all high and mighty, since his cousin’s band were not in it.

The additional classes only started from third year, and when registration time came around, Aiba couldn’t be fast enough when he took the magical creatures class. Professor Shimura noticed immediately from the first class that the boy had a special talent with animals, in opposition to Matsumoto, who was trying to get away from the creature that apparently thought that his thick eyebrows would be a delicious treat.

Jun ended up dropping after the first class, going for divination instead – not that he had willingly chosen it, but it was the only class that still had available spots. Nino had also taken this class, because he was a little afraid to go near magical creatures. The classroom was on the last floor of a big tower, and it was filled with all sorts of suspicious objects and weird fabric bands hanging from the ceiling.

The teacher looked even more suspicious. Shima Shigeko was a middle-aged witch, wearing very gaudy purple robes – that were almost as ridiculous as their principal’s multi-colored ones – and quite a lot of makeup. She always fixed her long curly hair with her long manicured pink nails and spoke with a weird vibrato. The course started with the basics of palm reading, and she was getting in between the pairs of students to verify that they were doing it well. When she arrived at Nino and his partner, she listened while they were trying their best to follow instruction.

“You should speak louder, my boy. And look more into the li~nes~” She took Kazunari’s hand and froze. Suddenly, her eyes became glassy and when she spoke, her voice was eerily low and there was no trace of vibrato in it. “ _The Four Marks are united. The Four Marks will be bonded by one sphere, joined by the Blossom. They are the chosen ones. When the moon will stop shining and the Dark Ones will try to overpower the stars, they will burn them until the sun takes over, leaving them so weak that they will be stepped on by the oldest creatures created on this earth.”_

Shima sensei them lost consciousness, and the students started panicking. Someone carried her to the couch, and someone else went to the hospital wing to ask for help and came back with Inohara sensei. The doctor was about to examine her when she opened her eyes and looked around her with confusion and surprise.

“What happened to me~? Inocchi? What are you doing here? You can’t interrupt a class to have tea with me~”

“From what I can deduce, you just made a prophecy, Shige-chan. We should extract it before your mind erases it.” He then took his wand and pointed it to the woman’s forehead, taking out what seemed to be a shining pearl, that he put away in a tiny glass tube. “You should take that with you later to the meeting!” With that, he left, and Shima sensei put the tube in her robes and continued her class as if nothing had happened.

-

“Four marks? The Dark ones? That’s weird. Sounds like bullshit to me.” Sakurai was trying to understand the prophecy, after Nino and Matsumoto had told them everything when all five of them went back to their room.

“Maybe those marks refer to us!” Aiba removed his shirt, showing his shoulder. “I have a mark. Nino has one on his nipple. Ohchan has one on his belly.”

“Sho-kun has one too! It’s on his left ass cheek!” Jun blushed really hard when he noticed what he had just said. “I saw it when he was going out of the bath, ok?” They had a shower room and a big bathtub for every room, and it wasn’t uncommon for them to take baths with other roommates.

“It’s just a small petal shape. Does that count?”

They continued discussing the possibilities, and Matsumoto felt a little excluded, because he didn’t have any birth marks. There were supposed to be four of them, according to the prophecy anyway. He was really tired of pretending to be someone else because of his family’s beliefs, and it hurt him to insult his friends, especially Sho. He wanted to be proud of their friendships, he wanted to hug Sho without fear that it could be the last time he would be able to. But it seemed that everything separated him from his four roommates, that he considered as the people he could trust and love the most.

The excitement that came with the prophecy faded away quickly, but Jun couldn’t ignore his friends’ marks when he happened to be in the bath at the same time as one or more of them. He became more and more withdrawn, and his insults to Sakurai became more intense. Even in private, he became more and more distant, and the others were starting to worry. But the 5th years couldn’t do much about it because they had really important exams at the end of the academic year – they were official exams put in place by a special committee for 5th and 7th years – and they had a lot to prepare, especially Sakurai, who had chosen a huge number of classes. He didn’t even spend the entire summer break with Ohno, Nino and Aiba, choosing to go back to Majanii earlier to study as much as possible while it was calm.

Sakurai ended up getting the highest marks of his year, and Ohno passed with acceptable grades, and everyone went to celebrate at the Kokubun. The year after, none of them had special exams, so they hung out a lot at school and outside. Jun unexpectedly made himself scarce, and Sho didn’t understand why the other boy didn’t come and hug him anymore, but he didn’t say anything about it, thinking with a lot of sadness that the younger boy didn’t look up to him anymore.

After their 4th year, Aiba wasn’t able to join the others for the summer break, because he was asked by Shimura sensei to join him in a magical creature care center in the rather remote area of Ryuuka for an internship. Masaki would spend a couple of days with his family before going, and he was really excited about it, talking about all the awesome creatures that he would have the chance to meet and take care of.

The next time the others saw him, it was at Chibaba, and his smile was even brighter than before, if that was even possible. But what really changed was his body. He wasn’t the awkwardly tall lanky boy he had been before; he had gotten tanner, taller and bulkier, making Nino’s heart skip a beat when he looked at him with his bright eyes filled with happiness and hugged him. He put that on the account of missing his best friend, not wanting to put a name on those new feelings that were growing in him.

They were fifteen and sixteen, puberty hitting them full force and making their voices slightly deeper, and their bodies change. Nino started noticing things around him that he hadn’t cared about before, and girls started flirting with him, coming to him randomly and trying to start a conversation, playing with their hair and smiling sweetly to him. He wasn’t really interested in them, but he didn’t like the way too many of them were gravitating around his best friend. Aiba was kind of oblivious to all the flirting, and deep down, it made Nino relieved. He acted indifferent, as if he wanted to concentrate on his studies for the 5th year special exams, be he always kept an eye on those who tried to charm his way-too-trusting best friend by sending him love potion-filled sweets or love letters.

Things completely changed right after exam period, because of a certain incident. Nino was done with his last exam, going back to his room with a satisfied smile on his face, when he saw a panicking Sakurai run to him.

“Nino… Oh Nino… It’s Aiba-kun…. He…. Sports… friendly match…. Fell from his broom…. Someone cursed it…”

He then proceeded to run with him to the hospital wing, where to his horror, his best friend was lying on a bed, unconscious, with bandages around many parts of his body.

“His injuries have magical causes. His broom was cursed by someone who wanted to harm him.” Inohara sensei explained to them while trying to hide his anger and worry.

When they came back to their dorm room, they weren’t expecting to find a sad-looking Ohno, who was trying to comfort a crying Jun.

“He keeps apologizing. I don’t know what happened to him.”

“I… I’m so sorry…. I didn’t think they would actually….do it…. I…”

Sakurai looked at him coldly, taking his chin in his hand and making him look at them with wet eyes that were filled with pain.

“Matsumoto-kun. You know who did it. Don’t you. You know and yet you didn’t do anything to stop them. Do you realize that because of that, Aiba-kun is unconscious and harmed? You fool.”

Matsumoto cried harder, and Sakurai left the room.

A couple of hours later, Jun and his cousin’s band were all in the principal’s office. Their punishment was being discussed, and Kitagawa, who was a good-hearted man, gave them the task of cleaning the whole school without using magic during the holidays and organizing some things that needed to be tidied up in the archives room. Aiba couldn’t be transported from the hospital wing, but his injuries were treated adequately to the curse, even though he hadn’t regained consciousness yet.

Ohno, Sakurai and Nino had decided to stay with him, the two senpais taking a special permission, since they had finished their last year already. Since Matsumoto was there too, there was a lot of tension in the room. Ohno and Nino still spoke to him, but Sakurai was completely ignoring his existence. Not that he was in the room frequently. He woke up really early and came back pretty late, and sometimes, the others could hear the sobs he was trying to muffle with his pillow, when he thought that everyone was asleep.

In the beginning of March, Aiba woke up for the first time since the incident.

“He’s still very weak, but his state will become better and better.” Inohara sensei looked relieved. “I will contact his parents right now. Stay by his side.”

The Aibas, who were already regularly, came as soon as they heard the news. They were reassured by the doctor, and when they went back home a couple of days later, they weren’t worried for their son anymore. They were really touched by the dedication his friends had for him, especially the Ninomiya boy. The latter was barely seen outside the hospital wing, and he would even sleep there if he wasn’t kicked out by Inohara and the nurses.

Masaki felt weak, and he sometimes felt like a burden. But one look at his best friend’s eyes warmed him and made him happy to have such people around. He would soon be able to walk again without any help, and he was looking forward to that, doing his best to recover fast. He loved the company of his friends, who were always here for him, but they had to leave during the night, so he felt a little lonely again, especially when he couldn’t find sleep, like at that moment.

He was tossing and turning, thinking of the warmth of Nino’s hand in his, when he heard a faint noise. He then saw a shadow coming in from an open window. He quickly recognized Matsumoto, who advanced towards his bed as silently as possible.

“Matsujun. You finally came to see me!”

The boy jumped in surprise, trying to run away, but he was held back by Aiba’s hand around his wrist.

“I can’t be here. It was my fault….”

“Don’t try to put the guilt on yourself Matsujun. I was the one who felt the curse, and you are absolutely unable to cast something that evil. Your magic is really pure, and I know because of that time when you used it to heal my cramps, because I was too stubborn to ask Inocchi sensei for something.”

Jun blushed, facing his friend but keeping his eyes down.

“I was planning on coming and helping you while you sleep. But I guess I will have to face you at some point. They were talking about that curse, and I heard them. But I didn’t think they would do it. Nonetheless, I should’ve said something. I’m so stupid!”

“Oh Matsujun. Stop feeling guilty. Things happened, and I’m recovering now. I wouldn’t say no to some Matsujun magic.” He grinned at the younger boy, who timidly smiled back.

When the magic started flowing from Jun’s hands to his friend’s body, it was very relieving. Aiba noticed the silent tears going down the other’s face, wiping them gently with his hand.

“Why have you been distancing yourself from us? We know of your circumstances, but we trust you. And we know that you’re not bad like them.”

“You guys are too good for me. I’ve only been insulting you bringing you bad things. I don’t even belong in your group.”

“Why? You belong to the north room 10 team as much as the rest of us do!”

“You’re not cowards like I am. And you’re all marked.”

“Marked? Is it because of that stupid prophecy? Come on, Matsujun! It might not even be us! And you’re marked plenty enough, aren’t you? You have a lot of cute moles.”

Matsumoto cried harder, going into the other’s open arms and leaving after he had calmed down and the other’s breathing had slowed down. He put the covers on him, trying not to collapse while going back to the room. He had used a lot of magic, so he didn’t wake up early like he usually did. When he opened his eyes, the room was all bright from sunlight, and there was no one in it. When he went to have breakfast, he spotted the four boys having fun in the garden, and to his relief, Aiba was walking slowly, holding onto Nino’s shoulder for support.

His eyes met Sakurai’s from afar, and the older stared at him for five seconds, before nodding slowly, as if he was showing gratitude. He knew…

Jun continued his way towards a kitchen, but he was interrupted on his way by a hand on his mouth, and suddenly, it was all dark.

-

“I think you’ve been too harsh with Matsujun. You know how guilty he feels about what happened.” The four friends were having lunch, and Aiba was finally able to join the rest of the group in the common room. “We’ll be leaving tomorrow, since I can walk again! You two should make up, Sho-chan!”

“But it’s been really awkward for a while. I don’t know what to do anymore, because he’s been taking his distances from even before it happened.”

“Jun-kun seems to be in the archive room a lot. I’ve been bringing him some snacks from time to time.” Everyone looks at Ohno, who shrugged. “How about we go to him and ask him to join us when he’s done?”

The four guys went to the archive room, that they found empty.

“Maybe he went to grab a meal?” Nino suggested.

On their way to the kitchen, they noticed that Sakurai had stopped dead in his tracks.

“That’s… the bracelet I gave him for his 11th birthday.” He was holding a small chain that was attached to an amethyst stone. “I don’t think he would’ve dropped it in the middle of the way.”

They could feel that something was wrong. They searched all around Majanii, finding no trace of their friend. His cousin’s band wasn’t there either, and they were starting to get seriously worried. They were about to go and ask for help from one of the professors who was still there, when they all suddenly felt a sharp pain at the same time. Their marks were burning, and it was almost unbearable.

“Matsujun is in danger! We should go right now!”

They went as fast as their pain – and Aiba’s still recovering body – would allow them, not thinking about anything else but saving their friend. It was as if an invisible force was leading them to where they were supposed to be. They went to a thick forest that was right beside the campus, walking through the almost completely dark place, until they saw the light of a fire. They hid behind one of the trees to see what was happening, and they were shocked by what was before their eyes.

There was an open space with one single tree in the center. It had white flowers that were not in full bloom yet. Long candles were disposed in a sort of circular way all around, with some intricate designs drown on the soil between the candles and the tree. Jun’s cousin, Rei, and his friends seemed to be finalizing their preparations for some sort of obscure ritual.

That’s when they noticed an unconscious Jun who was being tied to the tree. Ohno held onto Sakurai, who almost recklessly jumped there to rescue the poor boy.

“Everyone, please take place. We’re starting now. I only need to wake my idiot cousin up, and the party will begin.” Rei took his wand and directed it to the unconscious boy, who then opened his eyes. “Hello, sleeping beauty, how are you feeling?”

“Rei-kun? What’s happening? Why are you doing this? Untie me!”

“You’re so stupid, Jun. You and your disgusting friends. Do you think I didn’t notice that you liked those disgusting impure Mumu lovers? They ended up being really useful to give us an excuse to stay here, and to have you with us. Because all of this was part of the plan. We needed to be here with no one else around, to prepare everything for the big moment. We also need some pure blood for that, and apparently, yours is exactly what we need.”

Jun’s eyes widened in understanding, and Sakurai put a hand on his mouth to muffle his gasp.

“Are you out of your mind? You’re trying to free the Akukoku?”

Akukoku were very dark demons that were created centuries ago by a purely evil wizard, and they were indestructible and immortal, since they were deadly and had incredibly fast regeneration capacities. They were sealed away by a group of wizards and witches before they could bring the world to chaos.

“They will get us rid of all the impurities in this world. They will kill all the unworthy filth once and for all.”

“They will destroy everything, Rei-kun. Including you.”

“You’re a liar. You don’t understand anything.”

With that, Rei took a knife from his pocket and stabbed his cousin’s hand with it, pinning it to the tree trunk. Jun screamed, and his blood started tainting the wood. The flowers of the tree opened completely, making the tree go instantly in full bloom. Petals started flying all around, but they were not white: they were an intense blood red. As red as Sakurai’s eyes at the moment. He looked furious and out of control. His body had reached an abnormally high temperature, to the point that Ohno had to let go of him in order not to get burned. He ran towards the tree, taking the chains that were binding Matsumoto to in on one hand, and they instantly melted. He took Jun in his arms, and even though he was still boiling, the younger boy didn’t look like he was burning at all.

“Look who’s here. Sakurai Mumu came to rescue the damsel in distress. Too bad for you, the ritual is done. You came too late, prince charming!”

The earth started trembling, and the soil inside the candle circle started breaking. Sho took Jun out of the circle, going back to where the other three were hiding. The seal had been broken and the Akukoku were free. They were tiny humanoid creatures with no hair, and their hands and legs had both very long fingers with long sharp claws. Their eyes were black, and their teeth looked really pointy and dangerous. Rei and his friends looked triumphant, admiring proudly the creatures that they had just freed. However, the Akukoku seemed to be slowed down by something, moving at a minimal speed, as if they were half-asleep.  The magic from the seal was probably still acting up, but it seemed like it would break down soon.

“Guys… the prophecy. I think we’re supposed to destroy them.” Ohno was looking at his friends intensely.

“How can we? They cannot be destroyed! I know it because one of my ancestors was on the team that sealed them down here.”

“We can do it, Sho-kun. My hurting nipple says so. Jun-kun is the Blossom. We’re the Four Marks. We can do it.”

Aiba was silent, deep in thought.

“We could combine out magic to eliminate while their power is still limited, before they can regenerate.”

They then heard a piercing scream, and Rei and his band were running away from the creatures who had just sunk their teeth into one of their friends’ flesh, killing him instantly and eating his abundantly bleeding flesh. When the creatures tried to follow the others though, they were stopped by an invisible force, keeping them inside the candle circle.

“The seal is still partially working. We should do something. Now.”

Ohno acted without thinking. He got to the limits of the space that the seal was giving them, adding his powers to create a stronger magical sphere around the Dark Ones. Jun followed him, as if he was controlled by invisible strings. He gathered all his positive powers, injecting them into the sphere. The Akukoku looked like they were burning at the contact of so much pure energy.

Sho was the next one to act. He was still burning from before, and when Jun was too weak to continue, he took over, injecting his burning powers inside. The creatures were now on fire, but they were still moving, trying to regenerate. Nino got up to help Sakurai, and they both continuously put more and more power into the sphere. The Akukoku’s regenerative powers were working though, even though they were slowed down because they were weakened, the sphere looked like it couldn’t be maintained long enough for them to be exterminated. The boys were on the verge of collapsing, and the sphere was becoming weaker and weaker.

That’s when Aiba, who had disappeared in the middle of the struggle, came back, whistling some sort of tune and looking up. Nino, who was about to shout at him, then noticed what was coming.

“The oldest creatures created on this earth!” He mumbled before he fell down from exhaustion, looking up at the rising sun that seemed to be accompanied with five impressive dragons.

The five imposing creatures stopped above the disappearing sphere, and before the Akukoku could even escape their destroyed limited space, their weakened bodies were reduced to ashes by a fire that was so powerful that it felt like it was the end of the world.

When the dragons landed, Aiba went towards them, hugging their long necks and caressing their heads one by one, not caring about the fact that they were ancient creatures that were potentially dangerous. Surprisingly, they seemed pleased by the attention he was giving them, even doing some sort of purring noise when they were receiving their human friend’s affection.

“You came, my dearests! I’m glad you didn’t forget me from our time in Ryuuka two years ago!”

He was looking at them with pure happiness, not afraid to meet their eyes and communicate with them on equal terms.

“You, you really have a gift with animals. You’re the first one in my long life that I’ve seen being that close to them in that way.”

It was principal Kitagawa who was coming to them with Tetesuko sensei. They were followed by Inohara and his team, who ran towards the exhausted guys to help them.

“You boys fought well.” The old woman praised.  “And Shigeko-san’s prophecy was accurate, as always.”

“Nino was the one who noticed that it was happening first. It made me think of my role in all this, and I called the friends I made during my internship with Shimura sensei. There is no creature other than them who could’ve fit the role.”

The professors nodded, and they went back to the school grounds with everyone, the exhausted boys going to the hospital wing to recover, spending the night there. The next morning, Matsumoto wasn’t with them anymore.

“He went back home to confront his parents. He also wants to testify against his cousin and the other evil doers.” Inohara sensei explained. “They were caught this morning, and all of them being older than fifteen, with the crime they committed, they will most likely be sent to the magical prison.”

When Jun arrived at the Matsumoto manor, it was in a state of high tension. His parents were in the dining room, together with Rei’s parents, seemingly in a very serious conversation. He patiently waited until they noticed him, and when they did, his mother ran to him and hugged him.

“Oh Jun! You’re safe! A letter came from your school this morning, and it got us really worried.”

“I apologize for my son’s actions.” His uncle intervened. “I know they used you to do what they did, and that’s unforgivable. I’m glad to see you’re doing well, even after they mistreated you and you fought to stop them.”

“It seems that you were helped by some friends of yours.” His father was talking in his usual cold and composed tone but couldn’t hide the emotion from his voice.

“Yes. And about this topic of my friends. Father, mother, I have to tell you something. I know you want me to carry the Matsumoto name with pride, and that you don’t really agree on certain things regarding the magical world and the non-magical one, but the friends who helped me, the only ones who were by my side when I was in danger were not those good and well-raised pure bloods that you think are the best for me. Those pure bloods tried to release the evilest ancient creatures, and when my own cousin pinned my hand to a tree with a knife,” he showed his bandaged hand by putting it up for all to see, “Sakurai Sho was the one who ran in rage and released me. Ohno Satoshi, who put up a barrier to control the creatures has the cutest Mumahou grandparents ever, Ninomiya Kazunari, who helped Sakurai-kun burn down the creatures, was raised in a non-magical family, and Aiba Masaki, who called his dragon friends to finish the job, has a non-magical father. They might not come from a purely magical background, but they’re strong, loyal, and loving friends. And I am done pretending to be the stuck up pureblood that I am not. You could send me to Hogwarts for all I care, but I will never stop thinking of them as my precious friends.”

They all looked at him with shocked eyes, and his aunt was the one to break the heavy silence in the room.

“I wish my son was more like you. I think we should reconsider our traditional views, and you’re a really good example for that, don’t you think so?” She then turned around, facing the other adults, who nodded, still in apparent shock. She seemed to have a lot of regrets about the way she had educated her son, and she admired her nephew for standing up to them in that way.

The Matsumotos eventually agreed on not transferring their son from Majanii, even though it was still hard for them to accept his views. When he went to Chibaba for his 6th year, Jun felt like a huge weight was lifted up from his shoulders. He spotted Nino and Aiba, going to greet them with enthusiasm. After talking to his parents, he had sent messages to his friends through the magical tablet, telling them the good news, and apologizing once more for all he had done. He had received positive answers from everyone, even though Sakurai’s had been a little too formal for his taste. The latter had decided to specialize in Mumahou studies in a magical university for a year, before applying for a non-magical university to study Asian cultures. Ohno didn’t have a specific idea about what he wanted to do in the future, so he had decided to travel around both worlds, surviving with his economies and planning on selling the art pieces he would create on the way.

Aiba was their new room leader, and they had two new roommates: Tegoshi Yuya, a first year whose hair color changed according to his moods, and Yamashita Tomohisa, a 4th year who had transferred from a magical school in the USA. It felt weird without Ohno and Sakurai, but the new boys were really nice, and they got along well with them.

Jun was a completely other person, abandoning his cold façade for a more outgoing behavior, and he became quite popular, especially after everyone in school had learned about what had happened with the Akukoku. Aiba was welcomed back to the sports team like a hero, admired by all after the news of him being friends with dragons spread all around the school. Nino didn’t like the new popularity he was having, so he often went to places where people would have a hard time finding him. They other students would end up discovering his hiding place anyway, and he only had the safety of his room when he wanted to get away from them. He ended up finding another place that was off-limits to the other students, where he could be when he wanted some peace, and it happened because of an incident after the Halloween party that happened every year at Majanii. Vampire Aiba was surrounded by all sorts of girls who wanted him to bite them, and alien Matsumoto wasn’t doing better. Nino had though that if his disguise wasn’t attractive they would leave him alone, but his zombie attire was apparently really cute. He was running away from the students who wanted to offer him “treats” – more like love potion infested sweets – when he was dragged down and found himself under an enormous renaissance-style dress that smelled like lavender. He was facing a pair of legs that that he later identified as Shima sensei’s.

“If you’re searching for the hideous zombie boy, he just ran over there,” he heard his teacher say. When the noise of the excited crowd had died down, Nino got out of his improvised hiding place, thanking his divinations teacher with a lot of gratitude. “How about you have a cup of tea with me as a thank you?”

For someone who dressed as extravagantly as she spoke, Shima Shigeko was an unexpectedly calm person, who revealed to be of a rather agreeable company. Nino’s visits to the divinations tower for tea times became more and more frequent, and little by little, he learned more about the mysterious woman’s quite atypical past. She had been part of a rock band, toured the world and was very popular in the magical community. At some point, she had started to have visions. Her first prophecy happened when she was taking a picture with a fan, who freaked out, and all sorts of rumors had started spreading because of that incident, damaging her reputation and making the group eventually disband. Kitagawa Hiromu was the only one at that time who had noticed her gift for what it actually was, and he had recruited her as a divinations teacher at Majanii.

One day, she saw how the young man was looking particularity depressed and gloomy, and she guessed that his tall friend had something to do with it.

“So, you haven’t confessed to Aiba-kun yet? He’s the one who’s making you like that, right?”

“He probably doesn’t see me in that way. He’s receiving too many love letters and disgusting love potion sweets anyway, so he got plenty of candidates who are better than me.”

“Poor darling, but did he respond to any of them? Did he tell you about a girlfriend or a boyfriend?”

“He didn’t tell me… but he might have one. It’s probably impossible between us anyway.”

“Nothing is impossible, my dear. Believe me when I tell you that, because at some point in my life, I thought that it would be absolutely impossible for me to be happy. I’ll tell you my secret. I was actually born a boy, but I knew early on that I had the heart of a maiden. I thought I was abnormal and I tried to repress it, joining a rock band and acting really manly with my electric guitar, taking female lovers and even male ones. But there was something wrong with me. I hated myself and I hated my body. When I started teaching at Majanii, my first friend there was Tetsuko-san. She immediately noticed that I wasn’t happy, and when I finally opened up to her, she supported me and helped me through the whole process of making my body in sync with my soul. And now I’m completely and authentically me and happily married to the love of my life.”

Nino, who was touched by the story, almost choked on his tea at the last words.

“You’re married?”

“Is it that surprising to you? A lot of people have a reaction similar to yours when they hear that. I know that you probably never saw him here, but he comes at least once a week to pay me a visit when it’s not a holiday. He used to be in the same band I was in, and he’s still working as a musician, composing and teaching the instruments he masters so well. My darling is also a Masa, just like yours. He’s not Masaki though, but he’s my sexy Masaharu.”

Shigeko then showed him some pictures, and Nino could see the happiness in the couple’s eyes. He wanted to find that kind of happiness, and he really wished it could be with Aiba. He didn’t want to lose their friendship though, and while he was torturing himself on whether to confess or not, he was surprised by a confession that came from Aiba himself on valentine’s day.

Nino was the first one to finish his finals, and he went to the empty room to get some well-deserved rest. He was woken up by a strong smell of roses, and when he opened his eyes, he noticed that he was surrounded by the red flowers, that had been put all over his bed.

“What’s happening? Aiba? Is that a prank?”

His best friend was the only other person in the room, and he jumped when he heard the other’s voice.

“Oh! Nino! You’re awake! I…. um…. Happy valentine’s day!” He then gave him a heart-shaped box, with a very red face. “I made them myself… my mum’s recipe… I hope you like them.”

Nino, who was still confused, took one of the chocolates and ate it. It was really delicious.

“It’s so good! Thank you! The person who will receive them will surely fall for you.”

Aiba looked puzzled at first, and then his eyes were filled with sadness and a little disappointment.

“You should fall for me then. Because you’re the only one who will be receiving them. It’s a confession… in case you’re wondering.”

Nino finally realized what was happening, and he jumped into Aiba’s arms, kissing his pouty lips.

“I love you too, Masaki!”

“Does that mean that I can call you Kazu?”

Nino nodded and then kissed him again. They were interrupted by Tegoshi, whose hair were as rosy as his cheeks when he fled as fast as he could, and then by Jun, who, after recovering from the shock of entering the room to the vision of his best friends making out on a bed full of roses, smiled and mumbled “about damn time”, before going out again.

Matsumoto was really happy for his friends, thinking about his own stupidity when it came to the man he loved. He couldn’t even bring himself to send a message to Sakurai and meet with him again, but he would have an occasion to do so, since he would finally be able to go to the non-magical world for the upcoming spring break. It took a while to convince his parents, and his older sister had unexpectedly helped him. She wasn’t interested in Mumahou, but she didn’t hate them, and she had said so to their parents, who were, little by little, broadening their very traditional minds. Matsumoto would stay at the Ninomiyas’, and Sakurai might join them for a couple of weeks, making him feel extremely nervous.

It was very amusing to see Jun’s childlike curiosity, and his broad smile every time he recognized something specific to the non-magical world that he had studied or read about. Masaki’s little brother sometimes made fun of him, but everyone was actually happy to show him around. When Sakurai was there, Matsumoto seemed to be repressing his excitement, and the way they were acting towards each other made their friends quite sad, and a little frustrated at their friends’ obliviousness and awkwardness.

“They’re acting so formally with each other!” Nino had complained to Aiba when the two of them were alone. “If only Ohchan was there!”

“Leader is somewhere around magical Alaska now. The last tablet picture he sent us was hilarious.”

“That guy loves fishing too much.”

It was a picture of their friend fishing in what looked like a completely frozen sea. He was standing near what seemed to be a whole made in the ice to access water, carrying a fishing pole. He looked really happy though, and he wasn’t ready to go back to a routine life anytime soon.

Sakurai had to leave early, because he had a lot of things to get ready for his first semester at Keio University, as an Asian Cultures major, with a minor in Economics. He left his three friends with a smile on his face, and Matsumoto looked depressed for a whole week after that.

In April, they went to Chibaba for their last year in Majanii. Apart from special exams, they had the heavy task of thinking about their future. They had several orientation sessions, and Nino felt more confused than ever. He didn’t know whether he wanted to be in the magical world or go back to the non-magical one. Aiba seemed to have a hard time too, but he really wanted to work with magical creatures. However, they both had unexpected propositions in the second semester.

They had been called to the meeting room at the principal’s office, and when that had entered, they were surprised to see that Tetsuko sensei and Shimura sensei were there.

“Hello dear students!” Kitagawa greeted them in his usual flashy manner. “You and you come and sit with us here. We all have something interesting for you!” They sat down nervously, and the headmaster continued. “You two are part of the best students we ever had in our magical school, and your potential was spotted since you started coming here, as the small and inexperienced 11-year-olds that you were. Your teachers who are here with us today have been teaching here for decades, and they were thinking of taking a well-deserved rest.”

“I’ve actually been wanting to retire for some time,” Shimura sensei started, “but I was worried about finding the adequate person to take care of all those wonderful creatures that we’re keeping here at this school. And I think that no one but Aiba-kun is fit for that.”

“It’s the same for me. I can only think of Ninomiya-kun as an adequate successor for the transfiguration class. Him and Ohno-kun are both geniuses, but the latter isn’t fit for academics, so I already knew for some time that there was only one person for the job.”

Aiba and Nino were shocked, but they were very happy about the proposition.

“If you’re hesitating, you still have some time to think about it, but I think you and you will be perfect for this.”

Kitagawa was right, and when the two students went out of his office, they already had secured their future careers. They were required to study for a year in a magical university, before taking a year of intensive training in addition to shadowing their teachers before they would be able to take over completely and independently. Things weren’t going to be easy for them, but they were looking forward to it. What made them even happier apart from the prospect of a dream career was the fact that they would always be close to each other.

“We’ll have the same holidays!”

“And we’ll be able to hang out a lot during our free times.”

“And I’ll be close to the magical creatures all the time!”

“Except when you’re on holidays.”

“There’s Daigo-kun and the other centaurs then. They’re super nice people. Shimura sensei introduced them to me when I started to come just to visit the animals and help him take care of them.”

They continued talking enthusiastically, telling the good news to their roommates, who were genuinely happy for them, the youngest one even joking about trying to be in their favor to get a special treatment, since he would still be a student in Majanii when they would start teaching. Matsumoto then told them that he had decided to specialize in magical and non-magical history, and that he had chosen a magical university to do so.

“I want to know more about both worlds, and I might find some kind of work in-between!”

It was sad to say goodbye to their roommates and their other kohai in February, but it was also the start of a new adventure for all three of them. For the first year, they were all in the same magical university, Joumaji, but Matsumoto was the only one who continued there, when the other two went back to Majanii for their shadow training.

A year later, in March, Ohno had contacted the whole group, telling them that he would temporarily come back to Japan, and that he would love to catch up with all of them. They all agreed to meet at the Kokubun for dinner and some drinks.

Ohno was the last one to arrive, and he was even more tan than before. He was also considerably bulkier. When he removed his hoodie, reveling a sleeveless shirt, his friends gasped at the big dragon tattoo that was moving on his left arm. It had multiple colors: red, purple, green, yellow and blue.

“I met other artists on my way, and one of them gave me that amazing piece of art. It’s some kind of reminder of what we all did together when we destroyed the Akukoku. I have two more, made by different people.”

He showed them the silver fish that was swimming around the birthmark on his belly, and the stormy sea, that was raging on his upper back. He told them about his adventures, the people he had met, the difficulties he had faced, and when they started getting tipsy, the very interesting sexual adventures he had had. They all listened to him and laughed a lot, updating him on their own lives, that weren’t filled with exciting adventures like his, but that had plenty of excitement and discoveries.

Sakurai was still studying at Keio University. He was the top in all subjects he took, and he had joined a circle that regularly organized trips all over Japan. He showed them his travel selfies, that were taken from all sorts of funny angles with the smartphone that he had bought right after entering university, and that he was really excited about.

Aiba and Nino were about to start their first year as official teachers at Majanii, and although they were nervous, they were happy about their job. On the romantic level, they were going strong and they had recently moved in together in a small apartment near Hitotsuya station, the magical equivalent of Yotsuya, spending their breaks there – it was also a short train ride away from Chibaba, which permitted them to visit their families in Chiba whenever they felt like going there.

Matsumoto was continuing his studies at Joumaji University, which was in the Hitotsuya area as well. He also traveled a lot around Japan – magical and non-magical – for study trips, and he was very happy that this fact made him and Sakurai share stories about the places they had both visited. There was still some odd tension between them, which was more like a lot of shy awkwardness. They called each other “Sho-san” and “Matsumoto-kun”, but they seemed to have bonded again in a way – the alcohol also helped a lot in that case.

On the train back to Hitotsuya, Matsumoto’s smile was enormous, and he couldn’t hide his excitement, telling his two friends over and over about how Sho-san was going to help him buy a smartphone, so they could exchange travel pictures and cute selfies. Nino and Aiba didn’t want to tell him that it was actually possible to connect between a smartphone and a magical tablet, too amused by how love-struck their friend was.

-

“Their normal pictures aren’t moving ones, but they have the options to take videos, and also what they call GIF. There are also tons of cute and funny filters. And adorable stickers… funny ones too. Oh my god! We have to create a Line account for you. And so many things. You do know about social media, right?”

Sakurai Sho was really excited to introduce non-magical smart technology to his friend. They were in a Bic Camera store, going around different sections before arriving at the smartphone one. Matumoto eagerly listened to every single world of the other’s explanations, blushing every time the latter said “Matsumoto-kun” in an enthusiastic way.

After they were done with choosing a nice smartphone as well as a good plan for the younger one, Sakurai treated him to lunch in a local ramen restaurant.

“The owner is an adorable Mumahou woman, but she knows about us because her son is a wizard and goes to Majanii.”

Matsumoto immediately knew who the son in question was when he saw his mother – it wasn’t hard to guess since they had the exact same smile, apart from the physical resemblance. Koyama Keiichiro was very close to both of his younger roommates when he was still at Majanii, and he was in the same year as Yamashita. The very welcoming mama gave them a special gyoza service, especially when Jun told her that he knew her dear “Kei-chan”.

“People like her are very accepting of the coexistence between the two worlds. She told me one time that she would’ve liked to know more about the magical one, but that it was hard to go there and explore, because she didn’t know where to go.”

“I think the opposite is also correct. So many classmates of mine are taking history classes while being in totally different majors, just for the sake of having the opportunity to travel around both worlds with a group of people with the same motivations.”

“Now that you mention it. My dream after I graduate next year is to actually open a travel agency that would be available to both magical people, and non-magical people who know about us. I want them to be able to explore both worlds without being worried about the barriers or the lack of information. My parents are ready to help me with the financial part, but I can’t do it on my own.”

“I have two more years before I graduate but count me in! I’d love to be able to create that connection between the two worlds.”

Sakurai was shivering from excitement.

“I’m currently searching for an internship in a Mumahou travel agency, and I might be done by the time you graduate. We don’t really have many travel agencies in the magical world, but I used to travel around with my family when I was a kid, and you’re having all those study trips, so I’m going to need your experience, Matsumoto-kun.”

The travel agency project turned out to be a huge success. The two men were joined by two more essential partners: Kitagawa Keiko, one of Jun’s senpais and Mizuhara Kiko, a classmate of his who was a Mumahou studies major.

The Green Light travel agency became popular way faster than anyone was expecting it to, to the point that they had to hire a bunch of additional people and train them after almost a year of starting the project. Koyama Keiichiro was one of their best recruits, together with Kato Shigeaki, his best friend, who had joined at the same time as him, and was interested in travelling and photography. They had both been recommended by Nino, who was very close to his students, especially if they were old kohais of his.

The agency kept getting bigger and bigger, and for the 5th anniversary since the opening, the four founders had decided to throw a big party at the headquarters, inviting all their friends and families, and the people who had helped them until then. Even Ohno had miraculously showed up, talking about his project of opening a tattoo shop, because he was a little tired of travelling around.

“So you want to settle down, you thirty-year-old grandpa?” Nino teased him.

“My body is a full canvas now,” the older man put up his arms, that were full of colorful designs and symbols, in addition to the colorful dragon that was still impressively moving on his left arm. “I want to put my own art into living canvases. But don’t tease me about being an old grandpa cause you and Aiba-kun are probably going to be the first of the group to become grandfathers.” Nino and Aiba were happily married for four years now, and they were seriously thinking of adopting a child.

“Talking about thirty, isn’t Sho-chan getting thirty soon?” Aiba intervened.

“His birthday is tomorrow. But I think J has prepared something for him tonight.”

As soon as Ninomiya had said those words, the familiar melody of a birthday song started. A small round stage was elevated in the center of the room, and there was a man on it, carrying a guitar and singing with a clear loud voice.

“Happy Birthday~ to~ you~ Happy birthday~ to~ you~ Happy birthday~ dear~ Sakurai Sho~ Happy birthday~ to you~.” And then the man vanished, together with his guitar and the round stage.

Nino was laughing as if he knew something more about what had just happened, and when the others asked for an explanation, he shocked them with his answer.

“What’s with that vibrato and that couple? He’s Shima Shigeko’s husband, Masaharu-san.”

“She’s married.” Ohno choked on his drink, reminding Nino of his own reaction back then, and making him laugh harder.

At the same time, Matsumoto Jun was pushing a huge strawberry shortcake towards a surprised Sakurai, who smiled and blew the 30 candles that were meticulously put all around it. Everyone in the room clapped, congratulating him for both his birthday and the success of Green Light.

After the party, the four founders magically tidied up the place, sharing the food leftovers that they could take back home – everything made by Tegomass catering was too good to be wasted – before having one last celebratory drink together.

“To the success of Green Light! And thank you for your birthday surprise!”

“KANPAI!”

“You’re becoming older now, Sakurai!” Keiko teased him. “By the way, for the birthday surprise, the one you really have to thank is our fabulous MJ! He organized the whole thing on his own.”

Sho looked at Jun, who tried to hide his blush by taking a big gulp from his drink, not being able to cover his now adorably red ears.

“I guess this is it for me. I need to catch the last train back home! Keiko-chan and I don’t live in Hitotsuya like you guys do!”

The women left, after not so subtly winking at the guys, leaving them alone. There was an awkward silence at first, and they both stared at each other for a whole minute before they started laughing uncontrollably.

“Do you want another drink, Sho-san?”

“Are you planning on getting me drunk, Matsumoto-kun?”

“Well maybe not drunk, but at least tipsy enough for you to stop calling me by my family name. You tend to drop the “Matsumoto-kun” after four or five beers!”

“Does it bother you that much, when I call you that way?”

“It’s not the way you call me, more than the distance it puts between us. I know I hurt you a lot when we were still in school, but we’re far from that time, even though I sometimes wish you would call me insect again and tease me like you used to.”

Sakurai chuckled, putting is hand on the younger man’s head, ruffling his hair in an affectionate way.

“You’ve come a long way from the scared and uncertain insect, who insulted me in every way possible in public, but cried and ran into my arms when I teased him in private. I was very confused and heartbroken when you suddenly stopped hugging me and took your distances.”

“I was stupid, thinking I was excluded because of that prophecy, because I didn’t have a birthmark like the rest of you did. I also had a crush on you back then, and I didn’t want to be obvious about it. And when I did what I did… and Aiba-kun was hurt… I felt too guilty and unworthy of everyone. It hurt when you started ignoring me, but I thought I entirely deserved it, and that I…”

He was silenced by a finger on his lips.

“I was stupid, and I acted way too harshly during that time. I wish I had put my damn pride on the side and forgiven you earlier. When I came around, I thought it was too late, and that our bond was kind of broken already. But you said you had a crush on me back then. Is there a chance that some of those feelings remain until today?”

Sho was blushing, and Jun understood then that he had been stupid, and that his feelings had never been unrequited. He smiled, taking the hand that was still caressing his hair, putting it on his beating heart.

“I don’t have a crush on you, Sakurai Sho. Can you feel that crazily beating heart of mine? It’s all yours.”

Sho’s fingers tightened on Jun’s shirt. He then removed them and delicately cradled the other’s face with both of his hands, looking at him with infinite tenderness, and muttering a breathless “Jun” on his lips before kissing him with all the pent-up feelings that had accumulated over the years. Their tongues soon found their way to each other, caressing and fighting, exploring each other’s mouths and only separating when they urgently needed to breathe.

Jun was getting more and more aroused, and his dick twitched when he felt Sho’s growing erection against his thigh. He separated their lips reluctantly, biting his ear, which resulted in a delicious moan from the older man.

“We should move somewhere else.” He whispered hotly, licking the lobe and making the other shiver in pleasure. “My place is really close.”

Sho nodded, unable to form any other sound than moans. They put their coats on, and Jun held his hand, walking with him outside, but before they went out in the cold winter air, he pecked the older man’s lips, wishing him a happy birthday. When Sho looked at the clock, he could read that it was right after midnight. He laughed and tightened his hand around the other’s, following him to his apartment.

As soon as the door was closed, the oldest didn’t even wait for them to remove their shoes in the genkan before pinning Jun to the wall and kissing him with all his might. They somehow managed to remove their shoes and coats at some point, getting rid of their clothes on the way to the bedroom.

Jun was about to search for some lube and condoms, when he was stopped by his lover, who carried him and dropped him on the bed.

“I’m not only competent in academical and theoretical stuff, Jun.” He then muttered a contraceptive charm that he had developed himself. “You or me?”

Jun was impressed by the other, and really turned on by the confident tone he was using with him.

“I want you to make love to me, Sho. Please.” He then adjusted his position on his back, with his legs wide open and inviting. He was really flexible, and it was hard to resist such a tempting vision. In fact, Sakurai was very fast after that, coating his long fingers with another smoothly done charm, and going for his lover’s twitching entrance.

“You’re so beautiful, Jun. You’re beautiful, and you’re all mine.” He started caressing Jun’s body with his free hand, looking tenderly at the amethyst stone that was on a chain around Jun’s neck – he had used a longer chain after the bracelet one was broken, keeping his most precious gift on him all the time. “You were jealous of our marks, and yet, you’re full of them. Your gorgeous moles made you the Blossom in that prophecy, and now, they’re all mine to enjoy.” He kissed the corner of the younger’s mouth, where there was a big mole, kissing him fully right after. He then started tracing as many small dots as he could with his mouth and tongue, still scissoring his fingers inside his lover’s hole. Jun was a moaning mess at that point, and he screamed when Sho’s fingers had reached a certain zone inside him.

“Sho…. Stop teasing meaaaah….”

“I’m giving your body all the love it deserves. You’re irresistible, you know that?”

“Can we do the romantic talk later? I want your dick in me. Urgently.”

“Your wish is my command, love.” Sho smiled, replacing his fingers with his rock-hard cock. He was trying hard not to move his hips too much once he was fully inside, but Jun became inpatient, and before he knew it, Sho found himself on his back, with a full view of Jun’s sexy body and bouncing leaking dick. He moved his hips in sync with his lover, who was shamelessly moaning while moving up and down, impaling himself on Sho’s member, hitting his prostate every time their hips met in a wet sound.

“It feels so good~ Sho~ Ah!”

Jun was still moving his hips with abandon, but his body was bent over the other’s, their lips joined, and their tongues intertwined. When Sho started masturbating Jun’s dick, he soon felt the semen coat his fingers, and it didn’t take him long to come intensely inside the tight heat.

It took them some time to come down from their high, and Sho muttered a cleaning charm before taking Jun in his arms for some cuddling.

“Such a show-off, with your cool wandless charms.” Jun joked, cuddling closer to the other man, who possessively tightened his hold on his naked body.

“The only one I’ve ever wanted to impress was you, love. And I realize now how much of an idiot I was, because you could’ve been mine so much sooner.”

“I’ve been stupid too. I’ve been wanting to do that ever since I became aware of my attraction to you. And that was a long time ago.”

“And I’ve been wanting to explore your body for all the moles for that long, I guess. You’ve grown, and now you have such broad shoulders and sexy hips and all, but you’ve been making my heart beat for you ever since you were an innocent tiny insect.”

“And that innocent tiny insect stared at your ass in a not-so-innocent way at every possible occasion.” And Jun completed his confession with a wondering hand that groped one of the full ass cheeks of his lover, who yelped in surprise, before laughing and pinching Jun’s nipples in a playful way.

Their teasing led them to a second round of hot sex, with Jun deep-throating Sho’s dick while both of his hands were on the round butt, groping the full globes to his heart’s content. He then came after fucking Sho’s mouth, screaming about how hot he was with his irresistible lips around his cock.

Sho was the first one to wake up the next morning, and one of his arms was numb, but he didn’t mind it at all since he got to look at his lover’s angel-like sleeping face from a very small distance.

“Hmmm I can feel your creepy stare on me, Sho.”

“I was just admiring your cuteness and beautiful sleeping face, gorgeous.”

“Shut up.” Jun mumbled before turning to the other direction and stealing all the covers that he used like a cocoon.

Sho laughed at his grumpy mummy of a boyfriend, getting up to prepare some breakfast. He was trying his best to not burn the eggs that he was currently cooking when he was startled by hands wrapping around his waist, and a sleepy voice vibrating against his back.

“I smelled the coffee. Don’t burn the eggs, Sho.”

Jun then proceeded to fill one if his mugs with the precious brown liquid, sighing happily when he got his first gulp. They then ate breakfast together and went to the Green Light headquarters in the beginning of the afternoon. Kiko was the only one in the administration office, and she didn’t hide her smile and her thumbs up when she saw them entering hand in hand, eying the marks that they had poorly tried to conceal with turtle necks.

“I’m so happy for you guys, but you just made me lose a lot of money.” She laughed at the couple’s confused faces. “There has been a bet going on about when you two would finally get together, and I guess we were all no match from the start against one of your best friends and old roommates.”

“Was it Nino or Aiba? I don’t think leader even knows about it.”

“It might surprise you, but the one who predicted the exact amount of time it would take you was Ohno-san!”

Matsumoto laughed, and he was joined by the other two. They then all started to work on the 5th anniversary special bundle tours. They didn’t notice Kiko giggling while sending messages on her magical tablet.

 

**< Group chat>**

**“The sakumoto bet”**

**Kiko:** Guys we have a winner!!!!! :D

**Nino:** Damn! I shouldn’t have given them that long!!!

**Keii:** That means I lose too. And Shige too.

**Shige:** **:((((**

**Keiko:** It’s Ohno-san.

**Yamapi:** Did he even participate in the bet from the first place?

**Satoshi:** Just what I needed to open my tattoo shop \\($.$)/

**Masaki:** As expected from our leader!!!!

**Kame:** I never understood why some of you call him leader….

**Nino:** He was our room leader when Aiba-shi, J and I joined him and Sho-chan in the dorm room in Majanii.

**Masaki:** East room 10 <3

**Shigeko:** Damn! I was off by a month…. I was sure it would happen on valentine’s day :(

**Ohno:** Shima sensei????

**Shigeko:** Congratulations, my boy. You beat a divinations expert.

**< Group chat>**

 

“Note to self: never underestimate Ohchan.”

“Leader was really strong on this one.”

Nino and Aiba were taking a rest in their room after finishing their classes at Majanii. Aiba made some hot chocolate and joined his husband on the couch, giving him his cup before sitting down really close to him. Nino adjusted his position until he was comfortably sitting between the other’s legs, enveloped by his warm body.

“I’ll have my revenge. We should start a new bet.”

“You’re really bitter on that one, Kazu.” Aiba laughed.

“And I will win the next one. I’m pretty sure they won’t wait that long to get married!”

Aiba kissed Nino’s exposed neck, taking his left hand in his and extending both hands, admiring the golden bands shining on their ring fingers. They both remembered the happiness that had felt when Nino had proposed and Aiba said yes, when they had announced it to their families, who were really happy for them, but told then that they had seen in coming from a long time ago. They remembered the ceremony, that was in a big castle-like place on the coast of Chibaba, when they had said “Yes” in front of all their families, friends and colleagues.

“I also think it won’t take them that long either, but I’m sure we’ll be papas before that happens.”

Nino turned around, putting his arms around his husband’s neck and kissing him fully on the lips. Aiba returned it enthusiastically, and soon, all bets were forgotten as their tablets disappeared under a pile of clothes, while Aiba fucked Nino on the couch.

-

Sakurai was startled by a mug filled with hot tea being put on his desk. He looked up at his boyfriend with tired eyes, before he noticed that there was no one else but them in the office.

“Our colleagues seem to like leaving us alone here!”

“You were so absorbed by work that you didn’t notice them going out. According to Kiko-chan, they’ve been doing that quite a lot. Leaving the two of us in the office.”

Matsumoto started massaging the other man’s tense shoulders.

“We’ve been so dense! Oh yes, you’ve got magical fingers, Jun!”

“I’m not even using my magic. Yet.” He then added some magic from the tip of his fingers, making Sho unable to muffle his pleased moan. “You’re overworking yourself on your birthday… you should definitely take a break.”

Sakurai suddenly turned his chair around and got up, putting the hands that had been previously massaging his shoulders around his neck.

“How about we both take a break together?” He kissed Jun excitedly, biting his lower lip. “We could prepare a special bundle… just for you and me.”

“You will let me plan it then. Because if I let you do the program, there will be absolutely no relaxing.”

“I’m not that bad.” Sho pouted cutely. “We could go to Paris, or maybe Hawaii.”

“That sounds too much like the cliché honeymoon destinations.”

“What if I want to go on a honeymoon with you?”

“We have to get married first for that to happen, Sho.”

“Well it’s perfect then. Because I was thinking that maybe we shouldn’t wait as much as we did to confess. I already know that you’re the love of my life, and that we will end up getting married anyway. And that way, we won’t give the others the time to bet on us.”

Matsumoto laughed loudly, taking Sakurai’s cheeks with his hands and squeezing them, loving the way his lover was looking at him tenderly, but laughing harder at the way his slightly chubby cheeks were all squished by his hands.

“Is that your way of proposing to me, Sakurai Sho?” He squished harder before letting go.

“I could give you flowers and a beach proposal or organize one of those flash mob things that seem to be really popular on Mumahou social media. I could bring you a whole orchestra and go down on one knee to pop the question, but I know you’re not one for conventional stuff. Let’s go to magical Sweden. I know the wedding rituals there are quite interesting.”

“Are we really getting married now?”

“Yeah. We can have a nice intimate winter wedding with just the two of us, and then invite everyone for a summer celebration by sending them pictures from our awesome Swedish ceremony. They won’t see that coming, especially from us. Even Nino and Aiba will be shocked.”

“Such an evil plan, Sakurai Sho. I like it.”

“Should I take that as a yes then, Matsumoto Jun?”

“I’ve always wanted a winter wedding.” Jun muttered against his lips.


End file.
